Birthdays in Britain

On your Birthday you get cards and presents from your family and friends. Parents often buy a big present like MP3 player. Other people give toys, sweets, books, clothes, CDs, DVDs and things like that.

People normally have a birthday party for their friends. There's usually a birthday cake with one candle for each year of your age. The person with the birthday blows out the candles and makes a wish. Then everybody sings 'Happy Birthday!' People often have a party in their own home. Some older children don't have a party. They take their friends to the cinema, a bowling alley or somewhere like that.

My friend, Anna, in Hungary says that they have 'name days' in her country, but we don't have 'name days'. Anna also says that people in Hungary give flowers on name days and birthdays. In Britain, we usually only give flowers to women.

Cameron and I give flowers to our mum on her birthday.